Resort Spotlight - Shades of Green

[NaCler]

Shades of Green is a resort that is not owned by Disney but is on property and unless you are military or family and friends of military, you will never stay there. I had the opportunity to stay there when I was a teenager in my church youth group as our leader was in the Army Reserves. I had never really thought about it again since you never really hear anything about it. My mom stayed there recently with a military friend, so I had her get a few pics so I could share them with you fine people. She took these with her Iphone, so some of them are not the best and I apologize for that. Enjoy...



















Shades of Green buses run once every hour!

[kellybus]

It's a great place to get your discount tickets if you are DOD or military. It also has a PX inside.

[Amy]

Cool! I had wondered about this resort since I knew it was only for a very specific clientele. Looks sort of like Wilderness Lodge to me. Do you know if they use one bus to get to every park, or are there separate buses like Disney runs? I would see the Shades of Green buses every once in awhile, but not very often.

[cy1229]

Looks REALLY nice. I like the contemporary, but casual, decor. I hope it makes our very deserving military members and their friends and family feel welcome and appreciated. Even better if they could stay there gratis or at a greatly reduced rate. But alas, just having a special, comfortable, restful place is good, too.

[Amy]

Looks REALLY nice. I like the contemporary, but casual, decor. I hope it makes our very deserving military members and their friends and family feel welcome and appreciated. Even better if they could stay there gratis or at a greatly reduced rate. But alas, just having a special, comfortable, restful place is good, too.

I believe their rates are really, really, low. Plus I think they might get a break on park tickets as well.

[theBIGyowski]

Yes, rates are based on your specific level in the military or DOD. I stayed there in 2008 with a friend of mine who was coming off of a tour in Iraq. We ran the WDW Half that January, so staying at Shades of Green gave us an affordable way to do this. Personally, I really liked the resort. It was beautiful and very spacious. The rooms were huge, bigger than any standard room in a deluxe resort, and there were two queen beds and a couch that became a single bed in each room. We were on the first floor, so we had a nice view of the golf course behind us. It was also amazing to be in the company of so many of our service men and women...most of whom were also running in the races that weekend.

The only downsides were the infrequent buses and the vast amounts of green. There really is green everywhere.

On the upside though...you can take a 10-12 minute walk to the Poly and catch a bus or monorail there. We did that on multiple occasions and it was great...especially since it was January and we didn't have to worry about the heat and humidity.

[Wizzard419]

Cool! I had wondered about this resort since I knew it was only for a very specific clientele. Looks sort of like Wilderness Lodge to me. Do you know if they use one bus to get to every park, or are there separate buses like Disney runs? I would see the Shades of Green buses every once in awhile, but not very often.

I was looking online (this was actually a disney owned resort that didn't do well, so they sold it to the military) they have their own fleet of buses that go to the TTA, DHS, and AK. They do still get the perks of magic mornings/nights but do not get any of the other perks of staying on site (though the discount helps).

[theBIGyowski]

When we went in 2008, we stayed the first half of the trip in Shades of Green...then switched over to a DVC via rental so we could try out the DDP and use DME to get back to the airport. We did end up saving a ton of money overall though because of the rate my friend got.

[NaCler]

Mom had a rate of $99/night, so that was cheaper than the Values during peak season.

[wewantsdaredhead]

Thanks for the tour, Bro...
My (real lol) Brother got married there. They have a wedding chapel on site...or at least they DID.
We stayed there but it was before the remodel and I think they added something else since then...a pool or tennis courts or something.
I seem to remember that it was sprawling (read as: it was a looooong walk to my room.)
We drove to the parks so I can't comment on the bus service but I have heard its odd (very different from the always efficient WDW bus system.

[Goofyfan]

Beautiful looking resort: GOD BLESS the military. Thank you for all you do.

[MmeLeota]

Thanks for sharing that with us NaCler! I knew about the resort, but never saw any pictures other than of the front. I think it's awesome to have a place where service men and women can take an affordable family vacation and unwind! It is definitely well deserved!!!

God bless our military (past and present) and THANK YOU for keeping us free!!!!

[DemonOfMusic]

I didn't even know this resort existed, but it's really nice! The decor reminds me a lot of Wilderness Lodge, and is very casual but charming. Our folks in the military are well-deserving of this. As someone who disapproves very strongly of war and violence, I love our military for all they do for us.

[figmentaholic]

I would love to stay there one time. My husband has several family members in the military, but unfortunately they cant really afford the trip, even with the reduced rates. Maybe one day.
I have two jarhead nephew-in-laws and a former jarhead father in law.. My dad was in the military, unfortunately it wasn't the US military.

[Amy]

I would love to stay there one time. My husband has several family members in the military, but unfortunately they cant really afford the trip, even with the reduced rates. Maybe one day.
I have two jarhead nephew-in-laws and a former jarhead father in law.. My dad was in the military, unfortunately it wasn't the US military.

My Dad was in the USAF, but he is gone now, so I doubt I could get military rates without him along I'd pay full price to be able to take him to Disney one more time!